Growth, characterization and optical properties of potassium iodide (KI) doped potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) single crystals for optoelectronic applications

Potassium iodide (KI) doped potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) single crystals were grown by slow evaporation technique using millipore water as a solvent. The grown single crystals were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction and the analysis confirmed that KI-doped KHP crystallizes in orthorhombic system with space group Pca2₁. The functional groups were identified by FT-IR technique which showed slight shift in vibrational frequencies, indicating inclusion of dopant into the crystal lattice. The UV-Vis spectral studies revealed the optical transparency of the doped crystals in the entire visible region. The optical band gap values were estimated from Tauc plots. Kurtz-Perry powder test was employed for second harmonic generation efficiency studies of the grown crystals.